


fall like a sparrow, fly like a dove (oh, what a feeling; it must be love)

by Dusty_Skyes



Series: Land, Sea, and Sky [6]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Au - Teba is single, I didn't mean for this to happen, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Love, sidon's a literal cinnamon roll, talk of Rito culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 07:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10458333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Skyes/pseuds/Dusty_Skyes
Summary: It begins with the color change of Vah Medoh.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't mean for this to happen. Promise. *cackles*
> 
> Title is from Alan Jackson's song "It Must Be Love"

     It begins with the color change of Vah Medoh. Usually the Divine Beast circles lazily in the sky above Rito Village; the residents do their best to ignore its orange glow and attempt to go about their usual business. But its presence is undeniable, even when corrupted, and its existence is merely noted.

     And yet, one morning the entire ground _shifts_ slightly to the left, a gale whips up and whirls through the village, bringing with it the scent of joy and hope and the orange lines on Vah Medoh slowly melt into the blue of a crystal sky. The heavy sense of despair that has always settled heavily on the village is suddenly _gone_ , and in its place is peace. Panic shifts through the village. The people are instantly paranoid, terrified of what is going to happen. Whispers spring up; this isn't the only Divine Beast to suddenly change color, and there are rumors that speak of the olden days.

     Of the days when the Hero still lived and the Calamity was silent. When all four beasts glowed blue as they fought the shadow back.

     But those days are no longer spoken of; they have long since fallen into rumor and legend. The only ones left who remember are the Sheikah, and they aren't telling.

     Yet something has changed, that much Teba knows, and he shares a look with Kass as they cautiously eye the now blue Divine Beast as it circles the town. Every rumor and legend has at least _one_ grain of truth; after all, that's how rumors and legends start. From the truth.

     “I'll keep an eye out while I travel,” Kass promises as he shifts the strap holding his accordion onto his back in preparation for flight. They're standing on a cliff edge high above town. Far above them, Vah Medoh banks left, rises higher, and begins circling in the opposite direction. Truth be told, he's incredibly worried about whatever happened that changed the color of the eagle. He'd been in Rito Village when the sensation of hope and joy had washed across the land and it had relaxed him for quite a while. Though once his mind had returned, the Rito had spent quite some time with his feathers fluffed in agitation and paranoia.

     Teba glances at him for a second, then returns his gaze towards the circling Divine Beast. “Be careful,” he finally says. “I will not rescue your ass. Again.”

     Kass splutters and clacks his beak together sharply. “It was one time!”

     “I think you meant to say eight,” the white-feathered Rito corrects, sounding vaguely amused.

     “I hate you.”

     “Of course, Kass. I love you, too.” Teba rolls his eyes skyward, clearly asking for patience, and Kass barely manages to resist punting the other off of the cliff they are currently standing on. Instead he chooses to wing upwards, 'accidentally' slapping his friend upside the head as he takes off. Kass immediately puts on speed, laughing gleefully at the sound of Teba's curses and splutters. “Ass!” the other bellows.

     “Always!” he calls back. Kass can just barely hear something else that the white Rito yells, but he's diving through clouds and can no longer hear the other.

     When Vah Medoh up and vanishes from the sky only a few weeks later, it's a completely different story. It's gone for several hours, the sudden disappearance noticeable, and the Rito worry once again. They've gotten used to having the Divine Beast there, high above their home, and having it missing is concerning.

     Was it stolen? Who took it? When? Why? How? There are a thousand questions and a thousand answers and none of them make any sense at all. Once again, Teba finds himself standing on the landing, staring out at where the great eagle used to circle. Kass still isn't back from his travels, still hasn't returned, and the worry is starting to bubble up in his breast.

     No, he doesn't love Kass. He's just honestly concerned about his friend because he...he—

     Okay, fine. He's in love with Kass. But Teba has duties to his village and he would never be able to leave for large amounts of time. Kass would never be able to give up his travels, either, and spending a lonely life in the village waiting for the pale blue Rito to return to his side is what Teba does already. It's already alarmingly like a plot straight out of a horrible harlequin novel, and he sees no reason to add a romance-gone-wrong to the mix. Being good friends with the beautiful Rito is more than enough for him.

     (No, actually, it isn't. He wants more. He wants to curl against Kass' larger form. To know that he is loved in return. But that involves expressing emotions and Teba has always been good at denying his own feelings. In fact, he does so with a vengeance, bottling them up and shoving them into dark corners to be forgotten about.)

     Teba doesn't need anyone to fuck his life up for him. He's perfectly capable of doing it on his own. And if pining after his best friend is how he goes about doing it, then so be it. Goddess, but Teba really wishes Kass was here right now. He might pretend to be annoyed by the other's music, but it's really just for show. The pale blue Rito is amazingly talented and Teba could listen to his playing all day.

     Sometimes if he's feeling particularly dead inside, Teba stalks Kass and just listens as the other plays, hidden in anything that is big enough to successfully conceal his form. It's pathetic, yes, but he doesn't care.

     There are days where Teba doesn't know why Kass is still friends with him. He's rude and crude, gruff and to the point, and he's driven off many other people with his attitude.

     (But Kass...Kass has always been there, even after Teba saved his ass from a Guardian and then called him a 'stupid fucking idiot with no common sense' right to his face. In fact, the blue-feathered Rito had just _laughed_. He'd laughed and then agreed with Teba's words. “Good thing I have you here to rescue me,” he'd later joked, and Teba had to shove his wing-tips behind his back to keep from pressing their foreheads together.

     He'd huffed loudly and stormed off towards his home, locking the door and pressing his face against a nearby mirror as he examines the red-colored feathers that are spreading across his face. He's in love with his best friend and he _can't do anything about it_. That, Teba thinks, is what hurts most of all. Really, Teba would give his _life_ for him. He would throw himself in front of _anything_ , even the Calamity itself if it meant that Kass could get out safely.)

     Days that are particularly trying are the ones where pretty Rito females flirt with Kass at every available moment. He's very sweet and polite—not grouchy and bitchy like Teba, who has already driven away every female possible—and it makes Teba grind his beak together hard enough to hurt. He wants to storm over, to grab Kass by the arm, and drag him off behind some Goddess-forsaken hill.

(Teba is very much in love with Kass, and there is nothing he can do to convince himself otherwise.)

**oOo**

     Kass is very much in love with Teba and there's nothing he can do about it. He loves the way the other looks, with his beautiful white feathers and sharp, golden eyes, and Kass would do _anything_ to be allowed to braid his feathers. He knows he's fucked.

     The thing is, he loves traveling. Kass wouldn't be able to give it up; he knows full well that Teba can't leave the village, either, and adding a romance to their friendship is just asking for it to blow up in their faces. He remembers full well being rescued all eight times by Teba, and each one pushes him deeper into his love.

     He'd...he'd die for Teba. Once he almost did—Teba still doesn't know that the spear in Kass' gut wasn't the result of a poorly timed dodge, but an attack aimed at the white Rito that he had taken for him—and Kass will take that secret with him to the grave. Besides, being the other's friend is good enough for him.

     (It isn't. He wants more. He wants to curl up around the smaller Rito. To know that he is loved in return. He wants to see Teba's beak forming his name, soft and gentle love in his expression. Kass knows he'll never get it. It's merely a dream.)

     On the days when even his own music can't cheer him, Kass takes to stalking the training fields, just watching from the shadows as Teba fills target after target with arrows and dances across the grass with his iron-tipped wings gleaming in the sun. Long are the days when the female Rito warriors ask Teba for tips and 'help' and Kass just wants to march across the grass and blatantly claim Teba as his own.

     Sometimes Kass doesn't even know why Teba is still his friend. He's not a good fighter, only has his sharp tongue and keen wit to keep himself safe, and the other doesn't even seem to like his music at all.

     (Once, when he had been rescued from a Guardian all those years ago, Teba had called him a 'stupid fucking moron with no common sense' and Kass' beak just opened without his permission. “Good thing I have you to rescue me,” the Rito had joked. Not even a second later, Kass immediately kicked himself for speaking, because Teba's face spasmed and then the other had stormed off. Kass spent that evening with his head in his hands, wondering why he even tried sometimes.)

(Then Vah Medoh shows up again and it's like nothing ever happened in the first place.

Kass doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.)

**oOo**

     It begins with a Zora in the Rito Village. He's tall, with red skin and blue fins, and Teba spots him looking over a table filled with shiny trinkets meant to go in a Rito's braids. There's a large trident anchored to his back, a bow just underneath it, and he's wearing light armor, several pouches draped across his chest. Across the table, the female Rito on the other side looks distinctly uncomfortable by the Zora's presence, but she's ignoring it because he's a paying customer. Quietly, Teba slips closer, watching as the Zora carefully picks up a trinket, examining the way the light glints off of it, before putting it down again.

     “Are you looking for something specific?” Teba watches as she eventually speaks up.

     The Zora blinks at her, then smiles in a way that shows off every single razor-sharp tooth in his mouth. “Do you do commissions?” he finally asks.

     “I do.”

     His face lights up. “Perfect!” His hand slides into a pouch on his chest. Teba tenses. Then the Zora draws out a small pouch that he carefully tips into his hand. Small stones slide out, each one about the size of a cherry. They're slightly dull and Teba frowns in tandem with the shopkeeper. Stones like that don't really make good trinkets; they're not shiny enough.

     “They're awfully dull,” she eventually remarks.

     “Oh, right,” the Zora says. Then water beads up in his hands, covering the stones resting in his palms before evaporating into nothing, and he picks up one of the stones and turns it in the light.

     “Oh!” Teba breathes, because the stone reflects the light and looks like little stars glittering in a red-orange sky. It's amazingly beautiful and Kass would love those.

     “We call these Sea Gems, because they're only found on the bottom of the ocean.” The Zora grins widely. “We use them all over the Zora's Domain and because it's humid and damp there, they always glitter and sparkle in the light. Especially at sunrise and sunset. Can you make these into trinkets for braids?”

     She nods and carefully takes the pouch of stones. “Of course I can. May I ask why?”

     He laughs, looking slightly sheepish. “My sister is best friends with a Rito, and I seem to have gotten into his good graces as well. Recently they went out to do something and he came back furious and missing a braid. Lost all the trinkets that were in it, too. He really likes the Sea Gems of the Domain, so I'm hoping these will work as a temporary solution. At least until he finds something more to his taste.”

     “Making these will take a while. You must be a good friend to do this.”

     The Zora flashes a fanged smile, but doesn't answer. “I only need four or so. Any extras you can keep to sell.”

     Her brow goes up. “Then why bring me so many gems?”

     He shrugs. “Because one of the large gems decorating the Domain got knocked down, and these are the pieces that make up it.”

     “And you just got the gem.”

     “I asked,” the Zora says, bows politely, then slips off to another stall.

     Teba watches quietly as the shopkeeper creates the gorgeous jewelery and doesn't approach until the Zora has picked up the desired pieces, paid, and left. Only then does he approach. Then he takes the chance to sidle up to her and pick up one of the trinkets and hold it up to the light. It's damp in his hand and glitters as the sun reflects off of it. “I want a few of these,” he says at last, and she nods.

(He can't give them to Kass, but he can still leave the trinkets in an obvious spot for him.)


End file.
